Lightning Storms Leave Thousands in the Dark

About 6K customers without power

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Lightning strikes were responsible for knocking out power to thousands in East County on Wednesday.

Many East County residents lost electrical service because of lightning strikes on Wednesday, utility officials said.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning at 3:24 p.m., warning residents in central San Diego County, including people in Ramona, that Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing quarter-size hail and winds in excess of 60 mph was in the region. The warning was issued through 5 p.m.

About 6,000 customers lost power on Wednesday afternoon, according to San Diego Gas & Electric's Web site. Officials said residents all the way from Julian to Boulevard lost service. An SDG&E official said the outages were caused by lightning storms. They said they expected that power would be restored to the majority of customers by 4 p.m.

The storms dropped rain in remote East County and are believed to have caused a mudslide near the Old Julian Highway and state Route 78, according to the California Highway Patrol.